The Indian consortium includes The Indian Oil Corporation (IOCl), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL).

The refinery will have a capacity of 1.2 mbl per day of crude oil or 60 mmtpa.

In a key address at the forum, Saudi Aramco President and CEO Amin H. Nasser said that the company has a massive and highly ambitious investment program for the next decade as part of its ambition for expansion. The project cost is estimated at around Rs.3 lakh crore.

Saudi Arabia’s energy minister has raised concerns that litigation would complicate a listing in NY, although President Donald Trump has publicly lobbied for listing of Aramco in the United States.

Saudi Aramco and the Indian consortium will each own 50% of the project, India’s energy minister Dharmendra Pradhan said in a statement.

The two leaders are expected to discuss a future “strategic partnership” with further joint ventures thought to be announced during Mr Macron’s trip to Saudi Arabia at the end of the year.

Saudi Oil Minister Khalid Al-Falih has also sounded increasingly hawkish in public, suggesting that Opec should keep tightening the oil market even though the cartel is close to meeting its goal of cutting crude inventories in industrialised countries back to their five-year average.

The oil company Saudi Aramco took first steps to expand the largest USA refinery, operated by its subsidiary Motiva Enterprises.

There has been worry both in Saudi Arabia and overseas that Tadawul will not be able to take in the placement of Aramco shares without suffering a major strain: the local market’s total capitalization is just US$500 billion and Riyadh eyes Aramco IPO proceeds of US$100 billion.

Aramco has also pledged billions of dollars for deals in Malaysia and Indonesia in the past year. Saudi Aramco had previously been interested in new greenfield refineries set up in India but none of the interests materialised in investments.

In an interview with Time magazine last week, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman-the proponent of the Saudi economic overhaul to diversify from oil-for the first time linked oil prices with the Aramco IPO.

Aramco, like other major producers, wants to tap rising demand growth and invest in the world’s third-biggest oil consumer.